legion

American Heritage Dictionary:

le·gion

(lē'jən)

The major unit of the Roman army consisting of 3,000 to 6,000 infantry troops and 100 to 200 cavalry troops.
A large military unit trained for combat; an army.
A large number; a multitude. See synonyms at multitude.
often Legion A national organization of former members of the armed forces.

adj.
Constituting a large number; multitudinous: Her admirers were legion. His mistakes were legion.

[Middle English legioun, from Old French legion, from Latin legiō, legiōn-, from legere, to gather.]

Search unanswered questions...

Browse: Unanswered questions | Most-recent questions | Reference library

legion

Top

Military organization, originally the largest permanent unit in the Roman army. It was the basis of the military system by which imperial Rome conquered and ruled its empire. The early Roman Republic found the Greek phalanx too unwieldy for fragmented fighting in the hills and valleys of central Italy. To replace it the Romans evolved a new tactical system based on small and flexible infantry units called maniples. These were grouped in larger units called cohorts, which ranged from 360 to 600 men, depending on the era. Ten cohorts made up a legion, which moved into battle with four cohorts in the first line and three each in the second and third lines. See also Foreign Legion.

For more information on legion, visit Britannica.com.

Roget's Thesaurus:

legion

Top

noun

See

adjective

Idioms:

See

big/small/amount

Antonyms by Answers.com:

legion

Top

adj

Definition: numerous
Antonyms: few, numbered

Oxford Dictionary of the US Military:

legion

Top

n. 1. (the Legion) any of the national associations of former servicemen and servicewomen instituted after World War I, such as the American Legion.

2. (the Legion) the Foreign Legion.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology:

legion

Top

[De]

The main unit of the Roman imperial army. In the early Republican period a legion comprised about 3000 troops, all with property qualifications, but this had increased to 5000–6000 soldiers together with a number of mounted men and officers by the mid 1st century bc. Later, from the time of Diocletian onwards, the number of legions was increased but the size of each decreased. Each legion was based in a legionary fortress, a larger and more permanent version of the fort. Each was given a number and a standard in the form of an eagle. A legion was typically divided into ten cohorts, each cohort being divided into six centuries.

Columbia Encyclopedia:

legion

Top

legion, large unit of the Roman army. It came into prominence c.400 B.C. It originally consisted of 3,000 to 4,000 men drawn into eight ranks: the first six ranks, called hoplites, were heavily armed, while the last two, called velites, were only lightly armed. Marcus Furius Camillus is traditionally regarded as the great organizer of the legion. Under Camillus the hoplites were divided into three groups: the hastati (youngest men), the principes, and the triarii (oldest). Within the legion was the cohort, consisting of one maniple of each of the three groups plus 120 velites and a cavalry unit about 30 strong. A legion was composed of 10 cohorts and comprised about 5,000 men. In Caesar's time each legion had a commander who was responsible to the Senate, 6 tribunes, a legate, a prefect, and some 60 centurions. Training was hard, with much difficult drilling to prepare the men especially in shock tactics and for rapid marches. The standard weapons were the spear (pilum) and (after Scipio Africanus Major conquered Spain) the short thrusting sword (gladius). The characteristic emblems of the legions were eagles inscribed SPQR [Senatus Populusque Romanus-the Senate and the people of Rome], and they carried the eagles in triumph over the far reaches of the empire for hundreds of years. Upon the legions rested to a large extent the glory of Rome. They were primarily heavy infantry and were vulnerable to quickly moving cavalry and archers (e.g., the defeat of Marcus Lucinius Crassus at Carrhae) and to guerrilla fighters (e.g., the famous defeat of Varus by the Germans). With the Germanic invasions the legion proved unable to match the barbarian horsemen, rendering it obsolete.

Bibliography

See G. Webster, The Roman Imperial Army of the First and Second Centuries (1969).

Rhymes:

legion

Top

See words rhyming with "legion."

Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary:

legion

Top

See crossword solutions for the clue Legion.

Translations:

Legion

Top

Dansk (Danish)
n. - legion, mængde, hærskare
adj. - legio, utallige

Nederlands (Dutch)
legioen, leger, nationaal verbond van ex-militairen, legio, talrijk

Français (French)
n. - (Mil) légion, (fig) multitude
adj. - légion, nombreux

Deutsch (German)
n. - Legion
adj. - unendlich viel

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - λεγεών(α), (μτφ.) στίφος, ορδή
adj. - αναρίθμητος

Italiano (Italian)
legione, innumerevole

Português (Portuguese)
n. - legião

Русский (Russian)
легион, великое множество

Español (Spanish)
n. - legión, unidad militar
adj. - muchísimos, de la legión

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - legion, härskara, stor skara
adj. - väldigt många, legio

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
军团, 众多的人, 军队, 众多的, 大量的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 軍團, 眾多的人, 軍隊
adj. - 眾多的, 大量的

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 군단, 군대, 다수
adj. - 무수한 , 다수의

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 軍隊, 古代ローマの軍団, 多数
adj. - 多数で

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) فيلق في الجيش 4000-3000 جندي, عدد كبير (صفه) عدد هائل من الناس, أو الأشياء‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮לגיון, גוף מאורגן גדול, המון‬
adj. - ‮גדול במספרו‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.

Related answers:

	About British legion? Read answer...
	What is Napoleon\'s legion? Read answer...
	What is the Legion of Mary? Read answer...

Help us answer these:

	What does legion means?
	What is a fibrous legion?
	What is the lambard legion?

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

Copyrights:

		American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Roget's Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Antonyms by Answers.com. © 1999-present by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more
		Oxford Dictionary of the US Military. The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. Copyright © 2001, 2002 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more
		Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more
		Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved. Read more
		Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary. Collins Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary © Anne Bradford, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008 HarperCollins Publishers All rights reserved. Read more
		Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more